A licensed clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic Health Center, Dr. Susan Albers believes the key to weight loss is not physical exercise, calorie counting or willpower. The key to shedding unwanted pounds is emotional intelligence.

Albers specializes in emotional eating and sees a link between expressing and managing one's feelings and the struggles that individual encounters with weight control. Impulse control, flexibility, the ability to handle stress and empathy are the key predictors of a person's ability to make the changes necessary to lose weight successfully.

'As a psychologist who has spent more than a decade counseling people on ways to improve their diets, I believe that without the skills linked to emotional intelligence, the urge or desire to eat – which is stoked by feelings, both positive and negative – will trump even the most valiant efforts to avoid overeating,' writes the author. 'The solution is to learn to identify what you're feeling in that critical moment of decision and to manage that feeling so you can make a healthier eating decision.'

That's precisely what this book purports to do – assist the reader in managing his or her weight by increasing his or her emotional intelligence (EI). The idea is to rewire one's brain to approach eating with heightened intelligence. The author discusses a set of skills and strategies that develop emotional intelligence as well as mindfulness, which is the ability to focus on what your feelings are telling you at a given moment.

'These skills and strategies constitute the EAT method, which enables you to Embrace your feelings, Accept your emotions, and Turn to new, positive alternatives,' explains Albers. 'When you learn and practice this method, you'll take control of your eating decisions, manage your cravings, conquer emotional and stress eating, and manage your weight once and for all.'

Those who have tried and failed to lose weight or keep it off may be a bit skeptical when they read this. Every so many months it seems another revolutionary weight loss plan comes along and none of them seem to really work. Why should this one be any different? Good question, but Albers' approach is quite different. Will it work for you? That's hard to say, but you might want to peruse this book to see if it makes sense to you. If it does, give it a try! What do you have to lose?

Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.